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Logan (film)
Logan is a 2017 American superhero film starring Hugh Jackman as the X-Men character Wolverine. It is the tenth installment in the ''X-Men'' film series, as well as the final installment in the Wolverine trilogy, after X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013). The film, which takes inspiration from "Old Man Logan" by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, based in an alternate bleak future, follows an aged Wolverine and an extremely ill Charles Xavier who defend a young mutant named Laura from the villainous Reavers and Alkali-Transigen led by Donald Pierce and Zander Rice, respectively. The film is produced by Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment and The Donners' Company, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Green and Scott Frank, from a story by Mangold. In addition to Jackman, the film also stars Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, and Dafne Keen. Principal photography began in Louisiana on May 2, 2016, and ended on August 19, 2016, in New Mexico. The locations used for Logan were mainly in Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mississippi. Jackman makes his final appearance as Wolverine in the film, having portrayed the character in all of the films in the X-Men franchise up to that point. Logan premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 3, 2017, in IMAX and standard formats. Critics praised the film for its screenplay, acting (particularly by Jackman, Stewart and Keen), direction, emotional depth, and departure from traditional superhero films. It became the best reviewed film in the X-Men series, with many critics regarding it as one of the greatest superhero films of all-time, and it was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2017. It was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 90th Academy Awards, becoming the first live-action superhero film ever to be nominated for screenwriting. It grossed over $619 million worldwide and became the third-highest-grossing R-rated film ever, behind Deadpool and The Matrix Reloaded. Plot In a dystopian 2029, no mutants have been born in 25 years. An aging Logan's healing ability has weakened, and his skeleton’s adamantium coating has begun to poison his body. Working as a limo driver in El Paso, Texas, he and mutant tracker Caliban care for 97-year-old Charles Xavier, Logan's mentor and founder of the X-Men, in an abandoned smelting plant in northern Mexico. Xavier has developed dementia that causes him to have seizures; it is alluded that one year prior, a seizure released a destructive wave of his telepathic powers that killed seven mutants, leaving the three as the last of the X-Men. Logan reluctantly agrees to escort Gabriela Lopez, a former nurse for biotechnology corporation Alkali-Transigen, and a young girl, Laura, to Eden, a refuge in North Dakota. Later finding Gabriela dead, Logan is confronted at his Mexican hideout by her killer Donald Pierce, who is Transigen's cyborg chief of security. Pierce is looking for Laura, who has stowed away in Logan's limo and has similar powers. She, Logan, and Xavier escape Pierce and his Reavers, but Caliban is tortured into tracking Laura. A video on Gabriela's cellphone shows that Transigen created Laura and other children from mutant DNA to become weapons; Laura was created from Logan's DNA. As they proved difficult to control and Transigen found an alternative, the children were to be killed, but Gabriela and other nurses helped some escape. In Oklahoma City, Logan discovers that Eden appears in Laura’s X-Men comic and tells her it is fictional. The Reavers arrive, but Xavier has a seizure and incapacitates everyone except Logan and Laura, who kill the attackers and inject Xavier with his medication. As they flee, Dr. Zander Rice, head of Transigen, arrives to help Pierce. Logan, Laura, and Xavier help farmer Will Munson and his family after a traffic incident, accepting an offer of dinner at their home, where Logan drives off enforcers from a corporate farm. Rice unleashes X-24, a clone of Logan in his prime and his alternative to the child program, who murders Will's family and Xavier, stabbing Will and capturing Laura. Caliban sets off grenades, killing himself and several Reavers while injuring Pierce. Logan fights X-24 but is outmatched, and Will pins X-24 with his truck before dying from his injuries. Logan and Laura escape with Xavier's body. After burying Xavier, Logan passes out. Laura takes him to a doctor and persuades him to prove the site in North Dakota is not Eden. There, they find Rictor and other Transigen children preparing to cross into Canada. Laura finds an adamantium bullet Logan has kept since his escape from the Weapon X facility, which he once considered using to commit suicide. Logan decides his job is done and chooses not to accompany them, to Laura's dismay. When the Reavers capture the children, Logan takes an overdose of a serum given to him by Rictor that temporarily enhances his healing abilities and boosts his strength. With Laura's help, he slaughters most of the Reavers, but the serum wears off. As Pierce holds Rictor at gunpoint, Rice tells Logan, who killed Rice's father years ago at the Weapon X facility, that no new mutants have been born due to a virus created by Transigen and distributed through the world's food supply, also causing the decay of Logan's healing factor. Logan, having found a pistol, shoots Rice and injures Pierce. X-24, enraged by Rice's death, fights Logan, as the children combine their powers to kill Pierce and the remaining Reavers. Rictor uses his powers to flip a truck onto X-24, but he frees himself and impales Logan on a large tree branch. Laura uses Logan’s pistol and adamantium bullet to shoot X-24 in the head. Near death, Logan tells Laura not to become the weapon she was made to be, and after she tearfully acknowledges him as her father, he dies peacefully in her arms. Laura and the children bury Logan, and Laura turns his grave marker on its side to create an X, honoring him as the last of the X-Men, before she and the children depart for the Canadian border. Cast of the "longest career as a live action Marvel superhero".]] * Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: :The X-Man formerly known as the Wolverine and a physically enhanced mutant with accelerated healing, dealing with his age and ailment as well as Charles Xavier's former pupil, his presumed son and Laura's presumed father. He is one of Charles Xavier's caregivers, alongside Caliban. Mangold spoke of Logan's age influencing his regenerative capabilities, which he stated may no longer produce soft skin, "so we imagined he heals quickly, still, but it leaves a scar. The simple idea was that his body would start to get a little more ravaged with a kind of tattooing of past battles, lacerations that remain of previous conflicts." On the second page of the screenplay, Mangold spoke of Logan as "... he's older now and it's clear his abilities aren't what they once were. He's fading on the inside and his diminished healing factor keeps him in a constant state of chronic pain—hence booze as a painkiller." In 2015, Jackman requested fan input for the direction Wolverine's story should go in the next film, while seeming to confirm that the project would serve as his farewell to Logan. To prepare for his role, Jackman ate a minimum of six meals per day, when working with trainer Mike Ryan. Ryan stated that an average workout session for Jackman lasts up to three hours, beginning at 4:00 a.m. Jackman stated, "... it's going to be very different. Very different in tone and hopefully different to anything we've done." Regarding the more personal tone Jackman noted "That's always been really his dilemma, coming to terms with who he is". Jackman has also explained that comedian Jerry Seinfeld was indirectly responsible for his decision to stop playing Logan after 17 years, with Jackman stating, "I was having a chat with Seinfeld about a year ago ... he was talking about why he finished Seinfeld ... He said he'd always had this feeling and belief that you never know when either your energy or the audience's energy is going to dip over into people saying 'Oh, please go.'" Jackman accepted a pay reduction to ensure that the film would be produced to receive an R-rating. :* Jackman also plays X-24, a feral younger clone of Wolverine, loyal only to his creator Zander Rice. * Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier: :A mutant who is the world's most powerful telepath who is also founder and former leader of the now-defunct X-Men. He is Logan’s presumed father, Laura’s presumed grandfather and was formerly known as Professor X. Charles's telepathic abilities have become unstable due to age (over 90 years) and an unknown brain disease, and at times he does not even recognize Logan. During the events of Logan, Xavier is cared for by Logan and Caliban. Regarding Xavier and the themes of aging and loneliness, Mangold said, "We've seen these characters in action, saving the universe. But what happens when you're in retirement and that career is over? ... The really interesting thing to me, or a place to dig that hadn't been dug, was the idea of mutants when they're no longer useful to the world, or even sure if they can do what they used to do. Their powers are diminished like all of ours are by age ... Our Charles is a very sweet character in this film. I think he's always been an incredibly sweet character. With the addition of his own physical fragility in this movie, he becomes an incredibly powerful paternal figure in the movie. Logan is more of a reluctant one, I think you can easily guess." Stewart remarked that "... this is probably the end of this franchise for me. But the thing about science fiction and fantasy is that you can never, ever say it's the end, it's over." * Richard E. Grant as Dr. Zander Rice: :The surgical head of Transigen, whose father was killed by Logan during his escape from Weapon X Headquarters at Alkali Lake.Logan - "You will recognise Dr. Zander Rice as the son of a man Wolverine murdered during his escape from the Weapon X programme." - Empire: March 2017 Issue - Page 62 On the character of Rice, Mangold stated, "He's the puppet master behind Pierce and the Reavers, and has a much larger role in the sense that he's actually the kind of brilliant mind that is trying to grow mutants." * Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce: :Transigen s relentless, calculating and intense head of security, and leader of the militant Reavers who is sent to retrieve Laura, which brings him into conflict with Wolverine. Holbrook said of the character, "He's an innovative engineer and he's a big fan of Wolverine. He just wants to hang out with him ... There's a lot of surprising stuff in it." Mangold praised Holbrook's performance, saying that "he is just a fabulous actor. I wanted this film to feel intimate and real and truthfully acted, and I wanted very much to break away from the kind of bloated feeling I've gotten from a lot of comic-book movies." * Stephen Merchant as Caliban: :An albino mutant who can sense and track other mutants, who is helping Logan take care of Xavier. On Merchant taking the role, Mangold mentioned, "I'm always interested to find the thing that looks most interesting on the actors. Stephen is a huge man. One of the things that is so wonderful filming with him for a character like this is that he's a good six inches taller than Logan, and huge over Patrick. The little kid in the movie would come up to basically his knee. So there's a wonderful sense of scale—but he has heart too." Mangold concluded by stating, "... So that was a wonderful energy to enter the movie, and someone who instead of turning things into their own energy kind of joined ours." A younger Caliban was previously portrayed by Tómas Lemarquis in X-Men: Apocalypse. * Dafne Keen as Laura: :A mysterious young girl, who is "very much" like Logan as well as Logan's presumed daughter and Charles' presumed granddaughter. She is also subject "X-23". On Keen's portrayal of Laura, Mangold mentioned, "If anyone could steal a movie from Jackman, it would be Dafne. She carries, all the time, a slight strangeness." In an interview with Digital Spy, Mangold stated, "... Keen was 11 years old when we were shooting. She's a remarkable kid. Her parents are actors, and she's kind of a very modern kid. Very physically capable. Incredibly gifted as an actress. I mean, it was a huge risk for Fox to allow me to make a movie where the third point of the triangle was built upon someone so young." Mangold stated that the worldwide search for an actress to portray Laura was one in which he was seeking "someone who was bilingual because I wanted a Latina kid—one who was between 10 and 12, and was a credible child." He later stated of Laura that: "She's an 11-year-old girl equipped with all the volatility, instability, mood swings, shadows and potential violence of our hero." Co-writer Scott Frank pushed for the character to speak as little as possible when he joined the project to avoid making her into a typical kid sidekick, explaining, "I read a few other drafts of the script that Jim worked on, and in all those drafts she was talking from the beginning and had an attitude. I thought that was a giant mistake." Sienna Novikov served as Keen's stunt double. Additionally, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal and Elizabeth Rodriguez appear as Will Munson, Kathryn Munson, and Gabriela Lopez. Doris Morgado, David Kallaway, Han Soto, Jason Genao, Krzysztof Soszynski, and Alison Fernandez appear as Maria, Danny Rhodes, Valet, Rictor, Mohawk, and Delilah, respectively. In the commentary to X-Men: Apocalypse, director Bryan Singer had stated that his film's post-credits scene would directly connect with the on-screen debut of X-Men antagonist Mister Sinister in Logan. In January 2017, Mangold stated that the character would not appear in this film. However the DNA from several mutants including Logan in that film was used to create the clones that are seen in this film. Production Development }} In November 2013, 20th Century Fox initiated discussions over another solo film starring Wolverine, with James Mangold in negotiations to write the treatment for the film and Lauren Shuler Donner returning to produce under The Donners' Company. At the time, Hugh Jackman neither confirmed nor denied his reprisal of Logan in a new film. Jackman clarified that his lapsing contract with Fox, which reportedly would need to be renegotiated after X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), did not mean he was leaving the franchise, as he had been working movie-by-movie since X2 (2003). He also stated, "I do want to do it with Jim and with producer Lauren Shuler-Donner because we had such a great experience. I'm really proud of The Wolverine (2013)." Later in the month, Mangold announced that the pre-production aspect of the film had not begun as of yet, nor the writing process, though he furthered this by stating, "... I would say I'm not there yet. But I have taken finger to key. Let's say that. There's been typing. And ideas. And talking amongst all the principles." Shortly after the release of The Wolverine, Mangold spoke of a potential sequel with the aim of not converting it into a "Will the world survive?" film, while also stressing his need "... not to make the same picture again." In December 2013, Jackman spoke of nearing the end of his tenure as the character, while stating that the film was in the very early stages of development. Jackman also revealed that Mangold and he had begun speaking of potential ideas, adding, "... Jim Mangold and I were literally on the phone last night talking about ideas but there is no script and no writer yet so it's a way off." Mangold would later reveal that Jackman was very involved in developing the story, saying, "Hugh and I have been friends for almost twenty years now, and he was there every step of the way. For Hugh and I, the first goal was to construct something more intimate. Hugh often brought up The Wrestler and Unforgiven as examples. I used those references as well as others. I pitched to both Hugh and the studio that I had an idea for an extremely bloody, existential Little Miss Sunshine." By March 2014, a decision was made to begin shooting after Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), with the tentative plan to shoot the films back-to-back, with producer Hutch Parker stating, "... the goal will be X-Men: Apocalypse for 2016, which means at the latest begins in summer 2015, and then the same thing with Wolverine, either before or after, but based on the script." Also in March, 20th Century Fox set a release date of March 3, 2017, Mangold boarded the project as director, Jackman signed on to reprise his role, and David James Kelly was hired to pen the screenplay. In April 2014, Jackman spoke about his ambitious feelings for the character of Logan, while mentioning that they can go further than what they achieved in The Wolverine. Jackman also expressed his feelings of finality with portraying the character of Logan, while in terms of storyline, he explained that nothing had been decided as of yet. Jackman concluded by highlighting that the success of the script development would determine whether Jackman would return at all: "I haven't signed on. I'm genuinely at that point where unless it's better than the last one I'm not going to do it. I think it has to be better. I can still see where we can improve on the last one. I love the intimacy of that story, I liked the small stuff, I liked that it was a little unexpected." In February 2015, Patrick Stewart spoke of discussions about the third Wolverine film, centering around a team-up between Jackman's Wolverine and himself as Charles Xavier, with Stewart stating to Marc Mohan that "... we have been talking about a Wolverine movie, which would team Hugh Jackman and myself together ... That would be a very different sort of X-Men from the four movies that I've already done." By April 2015, [[Michael Green (writer)|Michael Green] had taken over screenwriting duties, with Mangold still actively overseeing the script development process. In September 2015, Jackman spoke of the writers being halfway through the script, and that the story would delve into the relationship between Wolverine and Professor X, to which he added, "I think it's a really important relationship but I want to see signs of that quasi-father/son sort of relationship that has not been seen before, and sides of particularly Professor X that have not been seen before." Jackman spoke of Mangold's plan to start filming the next year, though he expressed uncertainty as to filming locations. Also in September, Mark Millar, creative consultant for Fox, confirmed that Mangold's film would be a loose adaptation of the Old Man Logan story, something that was hinted at earlier by Jackman. In October 2016, the title of the film was announced as Logan. In January 2016, Jackman confirmed that Mangold had a full screenplay, albeit not complete. The following month, Liev Schreiber expressed interest in returning to portray Victor Creed / Sabretooth, with Jackman himself mentioning Mangold's vision to Schreiber. After the film's release, it was revealed by Jackman that originally the script had the character play a role in the film, but that Sabretooth was excluded from the final screenplay. By April 2016, Mangold had chosen Boyd Holbrook to portray the main antagonist of the movie, the chief of security for a global corporation that is pursuing Wolverine. Also by April, Richard E. Grant was cast as a villainous mad scientist, and Stephen Merchant had also been cast. In May, Eriq Lasalle and Elise Neal were cast supporting roles, and Elizabeth Rodriguez entered negotiations for a small but key role. Also in May, producer Simon Kinberg revealed that filming had already begun, and confirmed that the movie would be R-rated; regarding the setting and tonality, he stated, "It takes place in the future, and as you and others have reported, it is an R-rated movie. It's violent, it's kind of like a western in its tone. It's just a very cool, different film." Filming On March 5, 2015, James Mangold anticipated that filming would begin "early next year." Prior to filming, the film was given the false title of Juarez to lower the visibility of production, but the local media eventually uncovered the ruse. On March 1, 2016, The Times-Picayune had confirmed that Mangold's film is preparing to shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a starting schedule of May. Producers Kinberg, Shuler Donner and Parker chose to film in Louisiana because of its popularity in film making locations, as well as its filming incentive, which includes a 40% tax credit for movie productions, though it requires a minimum expenditure of USD300,000. Principal photography was confirmed to have begun in New Orleans, with an original shooting schedule occurring from April 25 to August 13, 2016, albeit shooting was altered to start on May 2, 2016. On May 23, 2016, filming took place at the NASA Michoud Plant in New Orleans East, with Jackman being spotted, not far from Slidell, shooting a fight scene outdoors on the property. On May 26, 2016, the intersection of LA 16 at US 51 was closed for a time due to filming, with local store fronts don faux signage to transform Amite City, and east of Amite near Bell Road. It was revealed that scenes were filmed prior in Husser on May 25, 2016, with a scheduled daytime shoot to occur at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Hammond on May 27, 2016. Filming took place from June 9, 2016, until June 10, 2016, in New Orleans and Metairie, respectively. On June 1, 2016, it was confirmed that 20th Century Fox have applied to film exterior scenes for Juarez on Louisiana Highway 15 between Ferriday and Clayton from June 12, 2016, up until June 16, 2016, at the Ferriday Plaza Shopping Center, while a portion of U.S. Route 425 between Ferriday and Clayton will be closed for a five-day period in connection with Fox's production. On June 1, 2016, The Concordia Sentinel revealed that Sicily Island High School and a house in Sicily Island will be used in the production, while a crash scene will be shot on U.S. Route 425 just outside of Ferriday. Producers Kinberg, Shuler Donner and Parker choose to film in Ferriday, Louisiana, because of Concordia Parish's beautiful countryside and green cornfields. On June 16, 2016, Juarez was originally scheduled to move on toward Sicily Island, however, additional periods of shooting were added. Natchez, Mississippi had been chosen by producers of Juarez as the next filming location, for an upcoming scene which required the casting truck drivers, that will be filmed between June 14 up until June 28, 2016. On July 12, 2016, the Albuquerque Journal confirmed that Juarez would move on to its third major filming location—New Mexico, which ran through August in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Abiquiú, Tierra Amarilla and Chama. The New Mexico Film Office revealed that the production employed about 130 New Mexican crew members and two New Mexican cast members, as well as 600 extras throughout the production, the film office stated. On July 17, 2016, it was reported that the production of Juarez was in the process of casting to work on a scene filmed on July 22, 2016, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On July 25, 2016, it was reported that filming had begun in the Northern Meadows neighborhood of Rio Rancho, while a few miles further down King Boulevard there is an elaborate set built with a toppled water tower, that will be used for exterior shots until June 27, 2016. On August 11, 2016, it was reported that the production of Juarez were in the process of seeking worn out cars to work on an upcoming scene filmed on August 12, 2016, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Principal photography was confirmed to have ended in New Mexico on August 13, 2016, with an altered shooting schedule occurring from May 2 to August 13, 2016, while with post-production beginning subsequent to filming closure on August 23, 2016. Post-production ]] Film editor Michael McCusker was finishing work on Mangold's Logan, during the period of October 7, 2016, wherein he spoke of going through the dailies and breaking them down, and figuring out the structure of one scene which he described as a "complicated, multi-component scene". McCusker spoke of the task being rather time consuming, on the front end, albeit stating, "I am looking at the back end experience with Mangold as the more important experience. I don't want to be searching for stuff for him, I want to working towards getting the cut right." McCusker concluded by stating that another editor on Logan has use for post-production. Chas Jarrett was the overall visual effects supervisor and visual effects company Image Engine worked on most of the visual effects on Logan. Music In July 2016, Cliff Martinez was announced as the composer of Logan's musical score. In December 2016, Mangold announced that Marco Beltrami, who had previously collaborated with Mangold on 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and The Wolverine (2013), would take over from Martinez and score Logan instead. 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